Microsoft's identity model highlights four pillars: administration, authentication, authorization, and auditing.
In this model, auditing is the capability that records and reports identity-related activities, providing visibility into "who accessed what, when, from where, and how." SCI-aligned guidance explains that authentication verifies identity and authorization grants permissions, while auditing tracks and logs the resulting access to resources so organizations can investigate activity, satisfy compliance obligations, and detect anomalies.
Microsoft services such as Microsoft Entra ID (sign-in logs and audit logs), Access Reviews, Privileged Identity Management (PIM) reports, and Microsoft Purview Audit are explicitly positioned to capture user access events and administrative changes across cloud apps and services. This evidence enables security operations and compliance teams to monitor access patterns, prove regulatory adherence, and respond to incidents. Therefore, when the question focuses on tracking the resources accessed by a user, the pillar that directly addresses this requirement is auditing, not authentication (identity proof), authorization (permission assignment), or administration (lifecycle and configuration).